The Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions has approved the use of ZestyAI’s Severe Convective Storm suite, including Z-HAIL™, Z-WIND™, and Z-STORM™, giving insurers access to property-level risk insights.
In Arizona, the most frequent and damaging thunderstorm losses stem from strong, straight-line winds, especially downbursts. These sudden, localized wind events can exceed 100 mph and often cause significant roof and structural damage, particularly in vulnerable homes.
In 2024 alone, Arizona experienced 67 days of severe storm events, according to NOAA. These included high winds, large hail, tornadoes, and damaging downbursts, highlighting the growing volatility of the state’s monsoon season and the increasing threat to both rural and urban communities.
ZestyAI’s models are designed to address these risks. By analyzing how local climatology interacts with individual property features, the platform predicts both the likelihood and severity of storm-related claims, offering a more accurate alternative to traditional ZIP code or territory-based approaches, which often miss critical risk signals.
Each model is trained and validated on extensive real-world claims data and provides clear, transparent explanations of the key factors driving each score, enabling more confident underwriting and rating decisions.
Key capabilities include:
- Z-HAIL: Predicts hail damage risk and claim severity using property-specific attributes like roof complexity, historical losses, and accumulated damage, identifying which homes are most likely to file a claim, even within the same neighborhood.
- Z-WIND: Combines AI-generated 3D analysis of roof condition, complexity, and potential failure points with local climatology to deliver pivotal insights into property-specific wind claim vulnerability and severity.
- Z-STORM: Predicts the frequency and severity of storm damage claims, including hail and wind, examining the interaction between climatology and the unique characteristics of every structure and roof.
Bryan Rehor, Director of Regulatory Affairs at ZestyAI said,
“Arizona is a key market for many of our carrier partners, and one of the most rigorous regulatory environments for model review. This approval is a strong signal of confidence in our technology and our commitment to transparency, precision, and regulatory alignment.”
Arizona marks the 19th state to approve ZestyAI’s Severe Convective Storm suite—and the fourth model approved in Arizona overall, joining Z-FIRE™, ZestyAI’s AI-powered wildfire risk model already in use across the state. With elevated risk across multiple perils, Arizona’s adoption of ZestyAI’s models reflects growing regulatory confidence in AI-driven models that enable smarter underwriting, precise pricing, and stronger resilience in the face of extreme weather.